The Rain Follows the Plow
The Rain Follows the Plow, gets its title from a quote by Charles Dana Wilber. It summarizes the 19th century belief that if one were to plant crops in any climate, even a desert climate, the land would automatically adapt to water them. It doesn’t— but in this one little phrase Wilber managed to unwittingly capture the naiveté of the era. While this idea is now understood as misguided and romantically cavalier we still live in a world that assumes mastery of things much larger than ourselves.
The images of the west during the Great Depression are complicated and multi-layered in the American psyche. It was a time when the American Dream seemed to be blown apart and replaced with a never-ending storm of sand and suffering. During my time in Roswell I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the current economic downturn and the 1930s. Situated on the edge of the Dustbowl, the often-harsh realities of the Roswell climate conjured associations that deeply informed both the individual pieces and overall concept of this show.
In these works miniature vignettes sprout optimistically out of nothing and depict clever adaptations required to live in a frontier town. A dust storm has been isolated into only sight and sound, packaging its torment into a slick and polite package. Remnants of military equipment from past conflicts unearthed from the hard packed soil reveal a mixture of terrifying power and quiet patience. A juxtaposition of old and new, cold and warm, prickly and smooth…
Today, armed with technology and perseverance, alien spotters, pecan farmers, and strip malls push back against the harsh climate and find a way to make it all work. And I find that American optimism oddly cheering.
Trust me, this will work . 2011 . tumbleweeds, aluminum, hardware
Dustbowl . 2011 . 33RPM record, acrylic, glass, electronics, sugar. Recordings of the wind in Roswell opposite a silent dust storm trapped within a glass dome
Being Without Becoming . 2011 . AC unit, steel, Knoll pedestal base. Heating and cooling the same air again and again.
Patience . 2011 . WW2 bomb, stethoscope, silicone, plastic, arduino, electronics. Wearing the stethoscope one can faintly hear the Skip James song 'Hard Time Killing Floor Blues' coming from inside the bomb.
Making Do (Propane BBQ) . 2011 . Plastic, wood, gypsum, metal
Making Do (V8 Hot Tub) . 2011 . Wood, metal, plastic, stone, gypsum
remembering / forgetting
For this international group show in Lovestad, Sweden I developed interactive two pieces responding to the theme of ‘Shadow and Light’. ‘Forgetting’ imprints a slowly decaying shadow on a photoluminescent panel. ’Remembering’ projects a short analog animation when a transparent sheet is moved back and forth.
_technifying
I have two pieces in a show at Soft Machine Gallery @ 725 North 15th Street in Allentown, PA. If you are in town there will be a closing party Friday, January 20th from 8pm to 2am. Should be fun. Hope to see you there.
More Serious Business
I will be producing an installation for the show ‘More Serious Business’ to take place in the former Bethlehem Steel office building in the south side of Bethlehem, PA. The show will feature work by over 50 Arts faculty members who reside in the Lehigh Valley. The exhibition will be open from August 30th through October 1st with an opening reception from 6:30-9:30 on September 3rd, 2010. 511 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015
Walczak & Heiss win The City of Denver: 14th Street Corridor
Marek Walczak and Wes Heiss are honored to have been selected as the winning artists for our second permanent public art commission. Our interactive interventions will be populating the sidewalks along 12 blocks of the 14th Street Corridor in the heart of downtown Denver, Colorado.
Visit Walczak & Heiss for more info
We Struck Gold!
The University of Michigan Museum of Art ‘Dialog Table’ won GOLD in the 2010 Muse Awards in Media & Technology for Interactive Kiosks. I designed and fabricated the physical table while my partners Marek Walczak and Jakub Segen created the interface and interactive software.
Walczak & Heiss Win Public Art Commission in Stapleton, Colorado
Marek Walczak and Wes Heiss are overwhelmingly excited to have been selected as the winning artists for the Stapleton Central Park Recreation Center Public Art Commission. Our two new permanent installations, ‘Field’ and ‘Thought Balloons’ will be opening in January of 2011.
Visit www.walczakheiss.com for more info.
Walzcak & Heiss Finalists for a Public Artwork in Denver, Colorado
Marek Walczak and Wes Heiss are once again delighted to be one of 5 artists selected as finalists for a second public art commission, this one on the 14th street corridor in Denver, Colorado. We will will be presenting our proposal in July of 2010.
Visit www.walczakheiss.com for more info.
Shadow & Light
I am excited to be included in an upcoming show in Lovestad, Sweden called ‘Shadow and Light’ being put together by my good friend Marek Walczak. Along with performances and workshops throughout the summer the show includes an impressive roster of 29 artists from the US, Sweden, Denmark and England.
Learn more about the show and the other artists here:
http://shadowlight.someprojects.info/
Below is a sketch of ‘forgetting’, one of the two pieces I will be making for the show.
A book of topography
Pressed for time and without a solid concept on which to produce a ‘sketchbook’ for an Artspace NH fundraiser auction I started developing a book of 3 dimensional topography. This rendering shows my first attempt. Each of the 6 pages will be ‘printed’ as rigid warped surfaces on a 3D rapid prototyper and then bound with a conventional metal spiral binder. For this first attempt I applied a wood texture to the surfaces however I am really looking for variety of blue and white patterns similar to what you find on china dishes.
